TAMEST congratulates three new members and one current member on their election to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2026. They were among 120 members and 25 international members elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
Notable among the elections is TAMEST Member Ralph J. DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center, who is the seventh past Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award Recipient to be elected to multiple academies. Since 2006, 19 O’Donnell Awards recipients have been elected to one of the National Academies. Dr. DeBerardinis received the 2019 O’Donnell Award in Medicine and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2020. He also previously served as Chair of the TAMEST Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship Committee.
“I am so grateful to be recognized by the National Academy of Sciences for my lab’s contributions in metabolic disease research,” Dr. DeBerardinis said. “This honor highlights the accomplishments of so many exceptional people who have chosen to work in my lab. Training these scientists has been the privilege of a lifetime.”
Also elected to the NAS this year is past TAMEST Protégé Joel K. Elmquist, D.V.M., Ph.D. (NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center, who attended the 2007 TAMEST Annual Conference as the protégé of the late TAMEST Member Roger H. Unger, M.D. (NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Learn more about our new NAS members:
– Scott Aaronson, Ph.D. (NAS), Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science and Professor of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Austin
– Elizabeth H. Chen, Ph.D. (NAS), Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center
– Ralph J. DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), Director, Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development; Director, Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program, UT Southwestern Medical Center
– Joel K. Elmquist, D.V.M., Ph.D. (NAS), Carl H. Westcott Distinguished Chair in Medical Research and Maclin Family Distinguished Professorship in Medical Science, in Honor of Dr. Roy A. Brinkley, Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center
TAMEST will celebrate these elections and welcome other new members at the opening reception of the TAMEST 2027 Annual Conference in Houston, Texas.
